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Brits With Battleships: Difference between revisions
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* Supermarine Spitfire - the pride of the RAF during the Battle of Britain and indisputably the most iconic fighter of the war. Any work of fiction mentioning the Battle ''will'' name-check this plane.
* Hawker Hurricane - this was actually around more during The Battle of Britain and credited with more kills than Spitfires in the Battle of Britain. Generally speaking, Hurricanes would target bombers while Spitfires attacked enemy fighters, although these weren't exclusive roles. The night-fighting capacity of the Hurricane helped considerably during the war.
* Avro Lancaster - what dropped [[The
* English Electric Lightning- a very fast interceptor from the 1960s, with a climb rate that rivals the F-15, a plane a generation newer.
* Avro Vulcan - a British nuclear bomber, famous for its unmistakable delta-winged shape. During [[The Falklands War]], pulled off what was then the longest-range bombing raid in history, via a lot of tanker support. The history book ''Vulcan 607'' covers the first of these.
** Appears in ''[[
** Parts were used in the set for ''[[Alien (
Notable units include:
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* 617 Squadron: AKA "The Dam Busters", as they were the unit who did that famous mission and also contributed to sinking ''Tirpitz''. Today fly Tornado GR4 strike aircraft. Carry the very appropriate motto ''Apres moi, le deluge'' - Literally "After me, the flood".
* The Royal Air Force Regiment - not as well known as the rest of the military, these are an Infantry unit, "affectionately" nicknamed "rock apes". They get a lot of stick from the army (for not being a "proper" infantry unit as they seem to spend a lot of time guarding RAF bases) and from the RAF (for being allegedly thick).
* No. 1435 Flight: Who guard the [[British Frozen Rocks
'''Royal Navy'''
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::Unless there's the possibility of making an acquaintance with war gases, since the beard prevents you getting a good fit with your gas mask.
Has the Special Boat Service (SBS), which [[James Bond]] was a member of in the revised continuity for ''[[
* Basically everything the SAS is, except water navigation and combat swimmer capability added. SAS just gets more global publicity.
* Originally (in WW II) they were part of the SAS.
Includes the '''Royal Marines''':
These are the dudes who do beach landings and stuff like that. Wear green berets. In the past, like the British Army, they wore red coats. In the first ''[[Pirates of the
** Ironically, they're part of the reason for US Army Special Forces being associated with (and called) "Green Berets."
** Also in the new ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' movie, Blonsky (The Abomination) was retconned from a KGB agent into a Royal Marine, due to being played by Tim Roth. The Royal Marines are implied to be pretty badass by American standards in this movie.
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* It involves active duty military personnel or property, often the military will not be particularly nice. This will range from being uncooperative to actively covering the thing up. This behaviour will largely be done by the upper ranks.
* Squaddies (the enlistees) will often be somewhat violent when violence isn't called for, and a couple may do drugs (it was recently revealed the British Army was kicking out the equivalent of a battalion a year for narcotics use). Brushes with the civilian authorities for public drunkenness are few and far between, however, or at least seldom committed by the same soldier twice. One is advised to be careful in pubs in garrison towns.
* Any British Army officer up to 1945, and quite a few afterwards, will display all the characteristics of an [[Officer and
** [[
** And also excepting Colonel (later Brigadier General) [[Flashman]].
* No discussion of this subject is complete without the [[World War Two]] RAF pilot, who will have a moustache, a leather flying jacket and silk scarf, and use several of the expressions in [[Stock British Phrases]].
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* In ''[[The Salvation War]]'', the British (in conjunction with the Iranians) are up front for the Battle of al Badiyah al Janubiyah, where they break a flank of Abigor's army against their guns, mines, and razor wire, killing a notable portion of Abigor's cavalry and driving the survivors of that flank towards the main body. Over time the British military seems to revert to a supporting role, though because of {{spoiler|the destruction of Sheffield}} the RAF is granted the courtesy of "opening" the Battle of the Phlegethon River with a bombing run, killing several hundred {{spoiler|harpies}} before takeoff. In chapter 76 of ''Pantheocide'' however, it's heavily implied that {{spoiler|the SAS}} are the first {{spoiler|First-Life}} humans to enter the Eternal City.
* British military forces appear in ''[[The Patriot]];'' unlike most of these other examples, they are presented as the antagonists.
* Subverted in ''[[
* The novel and movies (of which the most recent came out in 2002) ''[[
----
Media involving [[The UK Armed Forces]] in a major way (we are not counting series where they turn up for a story or two as guests):
* ''Redcap'' (1964-66) and ''[[
* ''Soldier Soldier'', essentially a long-running drama. Popular enough for two of the stars to have a novelty hit single.
* ''[[
* ''Ultimate Force'', a TV series about the Special Air Service.
* The film ''[[Dog Soldiers]]'', when not mucking about with werewolves, presents a relatively accurate portrayal of the way squaddies talk and act with one another.
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* ''Sharpe'' involves numerous regiments and battalions of the army during the Napoleonic Wars
* ''[[The Navy Lark]]'' radio sitcom centred on the most incompetent crew in the Royal Navy.
* The fourth season of the [[Britcom]] ''[[
{{quote| "Where is this battle plan?"<br />
"We have a battle plan, sir?"<br />
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"Our battles are directed, sir?" }}
* In the British Fantasy series ''[[Redwall]]'', there is not much resembling a real army. Still, occasionally an organized force consisting of hares makes an appearance (they resemble an army by far more). It is an obvious parody to the British Army; the soldiers are uniformed, and have a typical ''I say'' - lifestyle. According to the Author Brian Jacques, they should resemble the light-headed characteristics of British Airmen from [[WW 2]] (Royal Air Force). Additionally, they have a very detailed hierarchy, ranging from Runners to Generals. They even have one specific rank, found in the British army ''only'': Colour Seargeant. Interestingly, also a typical American rank appears: Master Seargeant.
* The 1955 film ''[[The
* One of the favorites to use as [[Recycled in Space|a model]] for a [[Space Navy]].
* ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'' is of course about T. E. Lawrence, who was a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army (serving in the intelligence division of the Middle East command). His work with the Arabs was intended by the Foreign Office's Arab Bureau and the Army to help Britain take Ottoman Syria, and we see the British forces come in late in the movie.
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